The Former World No. 3 Marin Cilic believes that Novak Djokovic is the greatest player ever and has already eclipsed his rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. An excerpt from his interview resurfaced on the internet yesterday when a Djokovic supporter tweeted a quote from the interview.
The Serbian legend has seen a decline in his playing form as he currently sits at the 672nd ranking in the world just two spots behind Nadal’s 670th. Cilic was ruled out of the US Open due to a knee injury again and couldn’t make his comeback. He had a knee surgery earlier in 2023; that too led to a withdrawal from a Grand Slam (Australian Open).
Marin Cilic on Novak Djokovic:
— Danny 🐊 (@DjokovicFan_) December 24, 2023
“For me, Novak at his peak is the greatest player ever, the one with incredible tennis and barely any holes in his game." pic.twitter.com/Rb5teCGfUS
Marin Cilic made big claims during that interview and looking back at those, we find that most of it has been materialized as Novak holds top position in the Tennis world even today.
“For me, Novak at his peak is the greatest player ever, the one with incredible tennis and barely any holes in his game..”
“I believe that Djokovic has the best chances to finish a career with most majors – he is not that far behind Federer, he is also healthy and there’s a great team around him.”
Novak Djokovic has won every major title that a tennis player can, an Olympic gold medal remains to be the only major missing from his trophy cabinet. A just argument can be made on why he is the greatest tennis player of all time.
Not only does Novak have the greatest number of Grand Slams and Master’s titles; but he has also had multiple peaks throughout his career. The 2023 season is a great testament to this, he won 3 out of a potential 4 Slams, but also two Masters 1000, and secured the ITF World Champion title for himself at the end of the year.
Marin’s statement on the status quo sparked a row in the comment section of the post. Each fan stated their reasons on why one should of Novak’s season be considered over the others.
Marin knows, he's been around a very long time competing against the big three. Nole is above them all, except for Rafa on clay. A good debate on that, and a fully healthy Roger on Grass. It was truly the Golden Age of tennis. This new crop is interesting, don't see the same dom.
— YOGI MARK ROBERTS (@joyavayu) December 24, 2023
One fan commented that Novak’s 20156 season was him being his absolute best.
The highest peak for Djokovic for me was the beginning of 2016. Nadal getting trashed and the level at the ao especially against a good Federer was insane.
— Pauldriaan (@bumbalu1981) December 24, 2023
Another fan commented that Novak’s run in 2011 was the greatest of all times.
2011 Djokovic is the greatest player ever. 6-0 Against the other GOAT
— Romeo (@Romeo9839317951) December 24, 2023
contender nadal and 4-1 Against the Great Federer
Marin Cilic gets called out by Serbian media for not choosing Novak Djokovic as the GOAT
Marin Cilic opted for a neutral stance in the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) debate, causing Serbian media to call him out. They were unhappy with the Croatian player’s decision not to take Novak Djokovic‘s name as the greatest ever ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“It’s unfavourable to compare. I shared the court with them for the last 15, 16 years. Federer came first. The three of them were great rivals for the last 10, 12 years, but Roger is a bit older than Novak and Rafael.”
Although he stated that Novak’s run since 2011 is a phenomenon in it’s self and is certainly the best, he can not put Novak’s name as the undisputed GOAT.
“Novak has had fantastic years since 2011 and is definitely the best in the last 12 years. But it is difficult to determine which of the three is the greatest. Each of them made a great contribution to the popularity of this sport.”
Responding to the Croatian player’s take on the GOAT conversation, Serbian publication Mondo.rs published a piece targeting Marin Cilic’s comments. The article was titled:
“CILIC, SAY THE TRUTH FREELY, NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING TO YOU!”
Mondo emphasized that the statistics and numerical achievements clearly indicate that Djokovic has surpassed all others in tennis history, making him undeniably the greatest of all time.
